We all know the classic game of bingo right? Icebreaker bingo is a variation of the game intended to help introduce people to each other. Teachers can use the gave to facilitate introductions between students during their first class, and it can also be played at workshops, seminars or even parties.

There actually a couple of different variants of icebreaker bingo:

1. In one version of the game, the teacher (or organizer of the event) prepares a set of bingo cards printed with the names of the students. At the start of the class, each student is given one of these cards. The teacher then goes round the class asking students to stand-up one at a time, and introduce themselves including saying something about themselves (such as their favorite hobby or what they did in the Summer) and finishing with ‘I am pleased to meet you all, my name is…’. As in the normal game, each player’s objective is to get a line of five items ticked off their card (whether horizontal, vertical or diagonal), however in the icebreaker game, to win the player must not only be first to call ‘Bingo’, but must also be able to identify the people whose names are marked off in the winning line.

2. In another version of the icebreaker bingo, the bingo cards are instead printed with descriptions such as ’speaks more than one language’ or ‘has more than two siblings’. The players then circulate among themselves trying to find people who match these descriptions. When they find a match, instead of crossing off a square, they write in the person’s name - but different names must be used in each square. The first player to get a line of five items (again horizontal, vertical or diagonal are all equally acceptable), and call ‘Bingo’ is the winner.

By S. Tanna. To create your own custom bingo cards, go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/